


1AM

by Uncle_Riko



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project, Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:40:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24641014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Uncle_Riko/pseuds/Uncle_Riko
Summary: She didn’t know what she was thinking; perhaps she wasn’t thinking at all. But that was the beauty of it, wasn’t it?
Relationships: Sakurauchi Riko/Tsushima Yoshiko
Comments: 5
Kudos: 67





	1AM

**Author's Note:**

> this sorta thing kinda just happens at night, as the work will attempt to explain, maybe some of y'all can relate

1AM. Too early to go to bed? Or perhaps too late to be going to bed early? Nighttime was weird. Yoshiko liked weird though. There was something about the darkness, the calmness, the emptiness—and not even in a weird, fallen-angel-type way. There was just something tempting, attractive about it all, something that made her feel relaxed, uninhibited—intoxicated, even. Maybe it was sleep deprivation, the chemicals in her brain begging her to sleep, to put down her controller and her phone, at the very least before the sun came up. Maybe it was the overabundance of freedom—even as her eyelids grew heavy, why sleep away all that time that could be spent doing things she couldn’t do at school or during the day? Who knows, maybe it was something else entirely. In any case, it’s not like she owed anyone—including herself—an explanation.

She rolled over in her bed, picking up the phone she’d tossed aside mere minutes before. She thumbed through her social media feeds for the thousandth time before finding her way back to Discord.

Riko was online.

_Really?_ she thought _. At this hour?_

Subconsciously, her finger hovered over towards the phone icon, a feature she rarely used to begin with, let alone using it to call Riko. She didn’t know what she was thinking; perhaps she wasn’t thinking at all. But that was the beauty of it, wasn’t it? A clear-headed, sober-minded Yoshiko would have never pushed that button. On a sun-soaked day with the neighborhood children laughing and the birds chirping, well, the thought wouldn’t have even crossed her mind.

She sat up immediately, fumbling the phone at the sudden voice on the other end. She didn’t know why she was so surprised that Riko would pick up.

_“Hey, Yoshiko, what’s up?”_

Yoshiko didn’t have a game plan. She didn’t really think she’d get this far. “H-Hey! Not much…um…w-what are _you_ up to?” She lobbed the question right back, oblivious to the fact that they were headed for a loop if she kept this up.

Riko, however, had the sense to steer the conversation in a proper direction. _“Just trying to get some studying in. Got exams next week.”_

Yoshiko’s thoughts drifted off, to the point where she could see Riko, sitting at her desk, twirling a pen in one hand, fingers rhythmically tapping her desk with the other. It was obvious, that even in this oddly vivid fabrication, Riko had no time for the likes of her. “O-Oh, right…w-well, in that case, I won’t bother you…”

_“It’s ok, is there something on your mind?”_ Riko’s voice was soft, candid—genuine. She was distracted, sure, but it wasn’t often Yoshiko caught her when she wasn’t either angry or poking fun at the fallen angel. This side of her was almost…refreshing.

“N-No, not really…” She paused, trying to find the words. “I-It’s just…been so long…”

_“Since we last talked? You sent that weird cat picture to the group chat just the other day—”_

“—Since I last heard your voice.”

Maybe it was the anonymity of being behind a screen. Maybe it was the dark of night, hiding her ever-present blush. Maybe she’d just gotten fed up with always tiptoeing the line, always masking her feelings. Whatever it was that possessed her to say such an embarrassing line, well, oddly, she didn’t regret it.

There was a long, protracted silence that followed. Riko could be heard closing her textbook, her attention turning solely to the conversation—to Yoshiko. Yoshiko could have sworn she heard Riko’s lips curve into a smile.

“So? What game have you been staying up till dawn to play this time, Yohane-sama?”

* * *

The Yoshiko-Riko dynamic was never about the pleasantries, nor about adhering to the boundaries of a standard-issue friendship with simple fluff and chitchat. One of them was always teasing the other, or annoying the other, or getting the other to unwittingly agree to adopting a stray dog (among other bizarre adventures). But today was different. Today, the mundane, humdrum conversation was—unbeknownst to Yoshiko—exactly what she needed. It wasn’t the substance, nor the details that mattered. When was the last time they sat around and just…talked? Sure, Yoshiko missed their dynamic and the “good old times”. But that wasn’t really the point here. Rather, she simply missed Riko.

It’d been a year since Riko had graduated, since they’d last hung out together, since they’d last stood on stage together. And while she and Riko were in constant communication with each other via Aqours group chat, Yoshiko hadn’t once talked to her alone in that span of an entire year.

It’s tough, falling in love, especially with someone one year older. As a fresh-faced high school student, Yoshiko thought she had all the time in the world with Riko. But, though the leaves on the trees changed, her relationship with Riko never did, never evolved beyond little demons, beyond mere friends. And she thought that she was ok with that, ok with enjoying her youth with her friends, that is, until Riko left her.

What was she supposed to do? Confess? Let her go? Do nothing? It honestly didn’t matter which she chose. Why? Because Riko knew all along. She had to have known. Yoshiko was lousy at keeping secrets, least of all her own. She wasn’t stealthy or clever or adept at concealing her feelings. Sure, she hadn’t ever blurted out a confession point blank, but yet, somehow, Zuramaru knew, and Ruby knew, and You knew, and Chika knew. Hell, half of them probably knew before Yoshiko herself even knew. They taunted and tormented her over it; it’d be foolish to think Riko would be in the dark.

But, while Riko never addressed nor reciprocated those feelings, she never teased her about it either. Maybe that’s why Yoshiko wasn’t afraid to open up to her. Because when she eventually got to that point where she could confess her feelings, she knew Riko would handle it with tact and grace, and regardless of the outcome, they’d get through it together, just as they always had.

But that conversation was for another night. Truthfully, Yoshiko would stay awake talking until the sun came up if it were up to her. But she was never the voice of reason amongst the two of them; Riko made it her personal mission to never leave _anything_ up to Yoshiko.

_“Alright, it’s almost four in the morning, I think I should be getting to bed. In fact, we_ both _should be getting to bed.”_ Riko’s yawn signaled not boredom, but a natural end to their conversation. Somehow, amidst the three hours they'd spent talking about nothing, only now did they manage to find a good stopping point.

“Wait! You haven’t heard what happened last week at the fish market!” Yoshiko pitched futilely, knowing very well their time had gone well past expected.

Riko laughed, a momentary ray of sunshine at the horizon of a new day, _“Good night, Yoshiko.”_

The fallen angel gave in, sighing contentedly, her heart full. “…Good night, Lily.”

She’d have no trouble falling asleep that night. The darkness would wrap itself around her, comforting her, enveloping her—even if only for an hour or two longer. Her compulsion, her brush with impulsivity thoroughly sated, she’d sleep it all off and wake up to start a new day.

As she put her phone to sleep, the screen relit not a moment later, revealing one final message from Riko.

_Same time tomorrow?_

**Author's Note:**

> this story didn't really go anywhere, or say much, but idk maybe I never meant for it to
> 
> hope everyone is doing well, staying safe out there


End file.
